Even small increases in the price of gas can generate protests, like in Kazakhstan. But actually, we’re not paying anywhere near enough at the pump.
Protests at the Pump
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Protests
Russia: A New Start?
Can Moscow and Washington find common cause against the global scourges of nuclear weapons, climate change, and pandemic?
As the Decade Closes, the Power of Protest Endures
Despite the dashed hopes of the early 2010s, social movements are still winning important fights — and building a framework for human survival.
American Media Distorts Venezuelan Protests
Anti-government protests are being conducted by wealthier, right-wing Venezuelans, who have caused more deaths than security officials.
Who Are the People?
In a society in upheaval, just who are “the People”?
The Roots of Social Rebellion? Social Movements.
The lesson from the streets of Brazil, Turkey, and the Arab world is to avoid underestimating half-baked social movements still in their infancy. With technological advancements and opportune conjunctures, the underdogs of yesterday can quickly turn into the makers of tomorrow. Not every nascent movement cascades into a full-blown revolution, but the pathfinders whose thoughts and actions carry forward to make history must get their due recognition.
Brazilians’ Demands: From Lower Bus Fares to a Fair Society
With a million people demonstrating in the streets of cities throughout Brazil, everyone’s scrambling to understand how a 20-cent bus fare hike turned into a social revolt.
Trouble on the Other Side of the Euphrates
Spurred on by the deaths of hundreds of Iraqi civilians each month this year, and by persistent complains about the government’s poor performance and rising authoritarianism, Iraqi demonstrators are now taking matters into their own hands. With ever louder chants of effective governance from certain sectors of the country, what Iraq may be going through is its own version of the Arab Spring movement—smaller and less universal, but equally empowering to those who are in the middle of it.
Morsi’s Last Chance
Egypt is rapidly approaching its most acute political and economic crisis since the 2011 revolution that swept dictator Hosni Mubarak from power. Poverty is at an all-time high of 25 percent, with youth unemployment at a record 40 percent. Foreign currency reserves are on a rapid decline. And most importantly, President Mohamed Morsi is losing the most important commodity he possesses—the people’s confidence and trust.
The Roundabout Road Back To Tahrir
Given the thousands of people returning to Cairo’s Tahrir Square and growing discontent over the economy, security, and civil liberties, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi may have inadvertently provided his critics with a temporary unifying device: rallying to defend the rule of law.